The Cyclones rolled through Houston en route to a Big 12 title, and a handful of Cyclones picked up honors along the way.
The most impactful player of the tournament was Keshon Gilbert, who ended his three-day stretch averaging 16 points per game. After a few weeks of quiet performances, Gilbert has been dominant in recent weeks.
It all came to a peak at the right point, as Gilbert lit up Houston with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting. He also added six rebounds, three assists and three steals. The night before, he nearly had a triple-double with seven rebounds, seven assists and 20 points.
Gilbert’s efforts easily earned him a spot on the Big 12 All-Tournament team. Along with that, Gilbert also was named the Most Outstanding Player.
Along with Gilbert picking up multiple honors, Tamin Lipsey also showed out during the tournament. Lipsey’s efforts may not be apparent from the statsheet, but his defense pushed the Cyclones to three dominant wins.
Lipsey averaged 10 points per game, over five rebounds per game and over five assists per game. He recorded seven total steals and turned the ball over twice throughout the entire tournament.
Lipsey’s defensive presence kept Houston from scoring 50 points in the championship and earned a spot on the All-Tournament team.
The last Cyclone to make the All-Tournament team was Milan Momcilovic. The freshman made up for his recent shooting slump by fueling Iowa State’s 3-point shooting.
Although Momcilovic shot 0-for-5 in the first game, he made up for that in the last two games by knocking down seven 3-pointers on 14 attempts. He was the driving force behind the big win over Houston, as he led the team with 18 points.
If it were not for his performance against Houston, Momcilovic could have been omitted from the team, but his efforts in taking down the No. 1 team in the nation did not go unnoticed.
